Top 10: Former Olympic Sports

Number 7

Jeu de paume

Literally meaning "game of the palm," those who have difficulty speaking French will be happy to know that this game is also known as "real tennis" and "court tennis." Extremely popular in France from the Middle Ages throughout the French Revolution, this ancestor of tennis consists in using your hands to strike a ball.

Much like squash but without rackets, this game sang its swan song in London in 1908. American Olympian Jay Gould brought home the gold medal, beating Englishmen along the way. Because of its traditional association with the French aristocracy, the game quickly declined in popularity, only coming back as a demonstration sport in 1928.

Number 6

Golf

Considering the immense popularity of golf nowadays, it's surprising to learn that it was only an Olympic sport in 1900 and 1904. When Margaret Abbott took home the gold medal in 1900, she became the first American woman in history to do so. However, the event wasn't available for women in 1904.

That year, Canadian George Lyon took home the gold medal and walked on his hands all the way to the podium at the awards ceremony. Now that most sports are open to participation by professionals, there is a movement — led by PGA legend Greg Norman — to have golf brought back to the Olympic Games.

Number 5

Croquet

If you're anything like me, you probably associate croquet with a Sunday afternoon pastime for rich boring people. It's therefore hard to believe that it was an Olympic sport in 1900. If you've never seen a game in action, the idea is to use a mallet to drive balls through a series of wickets (wire hoops planted in the grass).

That year in Paris, all croquet events were won by French competitors. Don't worry, it's not a case of favoritism; the only participants were French men and women! Four years later, a similar game called roque , which is played on a hard surface, was introduced but was also quickly abandoned.

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